Source: The Bank of England: A History from its Foundation in 1694 (1966) by J. A. Giuseppi

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EARLY JEWISH HOLDERS OF BANK OF ENGLAND STOCK (1694-1725)

These three lists form appendices to the paper by Mr. J. A. Giuseppi, F.S.A., archivist of the Bank of England, on 'Sephardi Jews and the Early Years of the Bank of England', published in Transactions XIX. They are published separately here so that they can be studied side by side with the names in the 1695 Census and the Burial Register of the Bet Haim Velho.

List A gives the name of some 350 proprietors, almost entirely of known Jewish origin, of Bank of England stock. It is taken from the printed Lists of Proprietors, with some further details from the Bank Stock Ledgers. A holder of,€500 stock was qualified to vote at the General Courts held annually for the election of the Governor, Deputy Governor and 24 Directors; a holder of £2,000 stock was qualified for election as a Director, of £8,000 as Deputy Governor, and of £4,000 as Governor. The lists therefore indicate these classes of stockholders and thus to some extent their relative importance. Addresses and qualities are given in the list; 'of London, Merchant' was commonly regarded as sufficient identification at this period, but spinsters and widows were generally recorded as of more precise address.

The dates in the list have been adjusted to the present style (i.e. 2nd February 1694/5 is given as 2nd February 1695).

List: B is taken from the dividend books, compiled alphabetically of the stockholders entitled to the half-yearly dividends; the holders or their agents signed for the receipt of their dividends. It gives the Jewish names from the record of the payment of the 4th (1697), llth (1701), 30th (1709), 36th (1712) and 63rd (1725) dividends. It may be that some quite prominent holders of stock are missing from this list, as a proportion of the Sephardi holders were stock jobbers and may have happened to hold no stock on the day when the books were closed for the preparation of the dividend.

List C shows the extent to which the number of jewish holders of Bank stock domiciled in Holland increased between 1701 and 1725, until by the 63rd Dividend of September 1725 there were 62 .Jewish holders having addresses in Holland compared with 66 having addresses in London.

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